Renee Young and Shane McMahon welcomed the WWE Universe to another momentous episode of Talking Smack airing after one of the biggest announcements in Smackdown history – the Women’s Mony in The Bank ladder match.
Renee spoke about Randy Orton making an appearance and talking about his heritage and legacy as a WWE Superstar. Shane mentioned that Randy Orton was putting himself under a lot of unnecessary pressure ahead of his match against Jinder Mahal at the PPV.
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Shane also pointed out that the hometown factor would be playing on Orton’s mind given that the fans in St. Louis would want the Viper to win.
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Renee then started talking about the historic Money in The Bank match that would feature the women of Smackdown LIVE as the five competitors arrived on set.
#1 Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina
From the outset, Shane asked James Ellsworth to leave the panel since the discussion was historic and all about the women. Becky stated that they have been breaking barriers and creating history all this while. Natalya snubbed Becky saying that they would not have to be in the ladder match if Becky had let the bell ring earlier in the evening.
Carmella added another interesting point, saying that she had already pinned the champion on two occasions and yet was being made to compete in the Money in The Bank ladders match.
Charlotte brushed Carmella off as not too much of a challenge and all the women started yelling at each other. Shane, being the mediator, drew the attention back to June 18th and asked Tamina how she was feeling now that she was a part of the match.
Renee also questioned Tamina on the fears that she had, going into the match. Tamina cleared the air saying that they had worked very hard to get to this point and they all deserved their moment in the spotlight.
Becky added that the ladders were just a manifestation of the challenges they had overcome to reach this point in their careers. Renee asked the panel if they had figured out how they would use the advantage of cashing in the briefcase after getting the win.
Natalya stated that she could not wait to win the match and show everyone why she is the best of the crop.
Charlotte Flair said that she would win the Money in The Bank contract. Natalya called out Charlotte for fumbling her words during the previous statement. Shane declared that the Smackdown LIVE women’s roster had been on fire since its inception and the match was their reward.
Shane sold the fact that this match was the first time that women would be using ladders to get the contract hanging high above the ring. He emphasised on the physicality of the matchup and told the participants that the ladders could also be used as weapons. He wished them luck for the match before saying they left the set.
Renee then brought up the New Day returning to SmackDown LIVE and challenging the Usos for the tag team championships at Money in The Bank. Renee asked Shane for a prediction but Shane refused, saying that he would pick out a name after the match.
#2 Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler joined the panel with an air of jubilance after downing AJ Styles in front of his home crowd. Shane mentioned that the match was indeed ‘phenomenal.’ Dolph replied that he was carrying a chip on his shoulder and needed the win.
He reminded them how he had been in the WWE for the past 10 years working hard to make it for himself. Ziggler said that he did not actually believe that he had won when his music hit. Dolph said that it was great fun to stick it to all of AJ Styles’ fans.
Shane brought up the fact that Ziggler was the only man among this year’s participants, to have won the Money in The Bank match and successfully cash in. They watched a vignette of Ziggler cashing in his contract on the RAW after Wrestlemania 29.
Ziggler asserted that he was the same jerk back then and yet the crowd popped for him that night. Shane mentioned the Women’s Money in The Bank match and asked Ziggler what he was afraid of going into the match.
Ziggler said that his fear of heights played a huge role in these types of matchups. Ziggler said that he had been in plenty of ladder matches and he remembered each of them clearly because of how sore he felt the next morning.
He revealed that getting cracked by a ladder could throw anyone off their game. Ziggler then drew attention to his opponents in the matchup and said that he would be focused on Nakamura as he was a crowd favourite.
Ziggler likened his career to that point in 2012 when he was not winning a lot of matches but still managed to grab the briefcase at the Money in The Bank match.
Ziggler asked Renee who she was rooting for now that Ambrose was on RAW. Renee told Ziggler that she wanted him to win, especially since he was asking the question. Ziggler thanked Renee for the compliment.
Dolph clarified how he did all the groundwork and laid the foundations for AJ Styles to build up Smackdown Live. Rene thanked Ziggler for his time and he mentioned that his mom would be very happy with his efforts earlier in the evening.
Shane was impressed by Ziggler’s attitude going into the matchup. He mentioned that Dolph was in the right frame of mind going into the Money in The Bank PPV. Renee then focused on next week’s episode where the United States Champion Kevin Owens will be facing Shinsuke Nakamura in singles action for the first time in WWE.
Shane once again refrained from making a prediction but said that they would be on Talking Smack next week as well to recap the events of the show.
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